Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2023 December 21
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                         Three Galaxies and a Comet
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Dan Bartlett

   Explanation: [5]Distant galaxies abound in this one degree wide field
   of view toward the southern constellation Grus (The Crane). But the
   three spiral galaxies at the lower right are quite striking. In fact,
   all three galaxies are grouped about 70 million light years away and
   sometimes known as [6]the Grus Triplet. They share the pretty
   telescopic frame, recorded on December 13, with the [7]comet designated
   [8]C/2020 V2 ZTF. Now outbound from the inner Solar System and swinging
   below the ecliptic plane in a [9]hyperbolic orbit, the comet was about
   29 light-minutes from our fair planet in this image. And though comet
   ZTF was brighter when it was closest to the Sun last May and closest to
   Earth in September of 2023, it still shines in telescopes pointed
   toward southern night skies, remaining almost as bright as the Grus
   Triplet galaxies.

                  Tomorrow's picture: solstice solargraphy
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    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply.
              [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC,
                         [30]NASA Science Activation
                           & [31]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2312/C2020_V2_ZTF_CHILESCOPE_DEBartlett.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/h2ologg/
   5. https://www.astrobin.com/a2w8fr/C/
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grus_(constellation)#Deep-sky_objects
   7. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/
   8. http://astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2020V2
   9. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C/2020 V2
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231220.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=231221
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231222.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  31. http://www.mtu.edu/